Homemade Cola

Name: Homemade Cola
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 large orange; 1 lemon; 1 lime; 1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed); 1 ¼ cups water; 3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger root (does not need to be peeled); 1/2 cinnamon stick; 1/4 teaspoon coriander; ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg; 1 pinch sea salt; 16 ounces sparkling water

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This easy homemade cola recipe is a great all natural substitute for Coca Cola if you want to try it at home! The cola syrup combines fresh citrus, ginger, and other warming spices with brown sugar for that rich molasses taste. Best of all you can add caffeine to the drink, if desired, or leave it caffeine-free. Perfect for a refreshing summer drink.

A glass of homemade coke with ice and a slice of lime.

Quick Look: Homemade Cola

Prep time: 20 minutes.
Servings – This will make between 4-6 drinks, depending on how much syrup you prefer.
Main ingredients: Brown sugar, orange, lemon, and lime peels, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, and sparkling water or soda water.
When to serve: For a refreshing, non-alcholic drink, a healthy replacement for soft drinks, and a great alternative for nausea.
Dietary information: This recipe fits a Mediterranean-style diet, gluten free, and dairy free, as well as vegetarian. This would not fit the HYH diet.
Why you’ll love it: If you’re looking for a cola drink that is not ultra-processed and doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, or preservatives – this homemade Coca Cola recipe is for you! It’s great for those wanting a caffeine-free cola version as well.

Coca cola was such a craving for me during my pregnancy since I was so nauseous, and has been a craving for me during the prodrome phase of a few migraine attacks, but I am sensitive to caffeine and wanted a natural alternative with similar flavors. If you love this recipe, check out my homemade sprite or homemade gatorade.

Ingredients

Below are comments on the main ingredients, where to find them, and what I found testing this cola recipe multiple times. The full recipe card with amounts is at the bottom of this post.

Brown sugar – I chose brown sugar for this recipe because it’s a great way to add the molasses flavor but in one single ingredient. I also found with using brown sugar, you don’t have to worry about caramelizing the sugar before adding the water.
Citrus peels – We only need the peels of lemon and orange for this recipe. For lime, you’ll use the peel and the juice inside. Simmering the peels will infuse the syrup with citrus flavor. I recommend purchasing a medium to large navel orange.
Fresh ginger – Phosphoric acid in Coke provides that spicy, sharp, acidic flavor and can also help some people with nausea. The best way I found to replace this same spiciness and add the element of nausea relief is through fresh, grated ginger.
Cinnamon stick – This recipe was tested with a whole cinnamon stick, but some of the recipe testers felt it was overpowering, so we settled on half of a cinnamon stick. If you prefer a lot of cinnamon flavor, you can leave the whole stick.
Coriander and nutmeg – This is the seeds of a cilantro plant, and it adds a bright, grassy flavor to the profile. I tested this natural cola recipe with a few different ground spices, but felt coriander and nutmeg was the most important. Adding too many ground spices caused the mixture to be gritty, so I felt limiting it to 2 essential flavors was the best way to go. I found cloves added too heavy of a spice, especially with the cinnamon.
Sea salt – This adds some natural electrolytes for hydration, but also helps to balance the sweetness. You’ll notice most soda recipes have some sodium in them.
Sparkling water – This can also be soda water, but it needs to be highly carbonated. Topo chico does this well. Q club soda, polar seltzer, saratoga all have a strong carbonation. If you use club soda, you may not need to use the added sodium.

I tried to keep the ingredient list as simple and approachable as possible as I felt like the average person is not going to go out and buy powdered citric acid, gum arabic, browning sauce, etc. just for this recipe.

Cola Variations

When I posted this recipe online, I got so many opinions! Some people said it was missing vanilla, others said they needed caffeine. So here are some variations that were also tested.

Buoy caffeine drops – Their caffeine drops add a small boost and some electrolytes as well.
Vanilla cola – I tried vanilla extract and vanilla bean. The small piece of vanilla bean was a little lighter, but felt extravagant for a simple cola recipe. Then the vanilla extract was overpowering – tasted like artificial vanilla Coke. If you’re making this at home, I’d recommend about 1/4 vanilla bean to start.
Coconut sugar – A few people tested this with coconut sugar as an alternative and enjoyed it.

How to Make Cola Syrup

Peeling the oranges, limes, and lemons, with a peeler.

Step 1: Using a peeler, remove the peel from the orange, lemon, and lime. Save the lime for juice.

Adding all the ingredients to a small pot with water.

Step 2: Add the peels, brown sugar, water, freshly grated ginger, half cinnamon stick, coriander, nutmeg, and salt to a small pot. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes.

Straining the ginger and citrus peels out of the cola syrup through a fine mesh strainer.

Step 3: Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to sit for about 15 minutes to cool. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Pouring cola syrup into a glass with ice cubes.

Step 4: Pour 2-4 tablespoons of the mixture into the bottom of a glass with crushed ice. Add sparkling water to top it off and freshly squeezed lime juice. Stir to combine. If adding in caffeine drops, stir them in here. Taste and add more syrup to adjust to your preference.

Pouring sparkling water on top of the syrup in a glass with ice.

Recipe Tip

Using 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup as a base for syrup will get you the closest in sweetness to real cola soda, but the great thing about making your own is you can adjust the sweetness. Sometimes I find the flavors with less sweetness is perfect for nausea, so I’ll just closer to 2 tablespoons with about 6 or 7 ounces of sparkling water.

Storage Information

Refrigerator – The cola syrup will keep for up to one week in a glass jar. The recipe only makes maybe 6 servings at most, so you probably won’t have it very long!

Freezer – Freeze the leftover syrup into ice cube trays to defrost as needed. I recommend 2 tablespoon trays.

Two glasses of cola with ice on a table next to the cola syrup.

Recipe FAQ

Does it taste exactly like Coca Cola?

One reviewer on instagram said “Just tried this, tastes better than Coke or Pepsi, definitely making it again!”. I find the flavors to be a little more citrusy and spiced, rather than an exact copy. It’s difficult to make an exact copy using all natural ingredients!

Is this healthier than soda?

This recipe doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors, but does still contain a good amount of sugar. You can lower this through using less syrup to your blend, or just try one of my low sugar drinks like this blueberry mocktail. If you’re looking to limit caffeine or consume less ultra-processed foods, this is a great option.